


Flush

by Niki



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Mass Effect Kink Meme, Poker, Seduction, Strip Poker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-06 18:27:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niki/pseuds/Niki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poker is not the only game they are playing at the moment – even if it is strip poker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flush

**Author's Note:**

> A [kink meme fill](http://masseffectkink.livejournal.com/5405.html?thread=21918237) – first I ever wrote, too. More poker than porn, really.
> 
> De-Anoning to claim it for my Super Bingo square, "poker."

_Poker is all about probabilities. How likely are you to finish that flush, likelier to hit a pair. When you start, you play your own cards, when you develop, you play your opponents' cards, when you master it, you play your opponents._

_Not much room for that when there are no bets and no chance to fold. All you can play then are your cards. You figure out the probabilities, and play it as safe as you can. Still, sometimes, it comes back to pure luck – if the good cards are not showing up, there's nothing you can do, no matter how conservative you play._

_You're out of luck, you're out of clothes._

Shepard was almost sure James Vega was cheating. No way could one have that many full houses and flushes on five handed five card draw, there just was no way. Still, while the rest of them limped in with the usual high cards and pairs, with an odd three of a kind thrown in, the Lieutenant had only lost his shirt, and not in the usual idiom either. 

Figures that he'd get rid of his shirt before his socks, too. 

Kaidan was down to his Alliance issue pants, and Samantha wasn't doing much better, although she had chosen to get rid of her pants before the shirt, and now Shepard herself was about to lose either her shirt or her pants, just because Lieutenant “hey it's just luck” was holding a straight. With the damn spade jack she had needed for her straight flush. No, that wasn't exactly a safe, conservative draw, but when someone dealt you a hand with four fifths of a straight flush – open ended, too – you had to go for it. There were still all the chances for a simple flush, straight or even a high pair, so it was justified. 

She was about to reach for her zipper, figuring that at least the table would cover most of her bare skin in that case, when she caught Kaidan's eyes. He really looked damn fine without a shirt, and she was dying to explore the new scars he had collected during the years after she had last run her tongue over those delectable muscles. 

But apparently the Major was a major tease, too, and despite declaring his love he had yet to let her sample those “benefits”. It was downright cruel; she hadn't gotten laid in over two years, and even keeping in mind that she hadn't exactly been awake to feel the lack for most of that time, that still left many, many very lean months. 

She kept her eyes locked to his when she very decidedly reached for the buckles and buttons of her shirt. She almost smiled when she saw him swallow, but didn't let that hinder the intensity of her gaze. 

She wasn't exactly wearing a sports bra, here, and she could feel three pairs of eyes on her black bra, and the amount of breasts they revealed. Okay, maybe Steve was looking, too, but at least his appreciation would be purely aesthetic. She knew for a fact Samantha fancied her, no matter how blatantly she was ignoring it. And Kaidan loved her, and was the only one present who had actually touched what everyone could now see. 

And damn, did she miss that touch. She loved him, wanted to spend time with him, no matter what they were doing, but dammit, if spending time with him didn't include full body contact – without armor in between – soon, she would die of sexual frustration, and that would not be a fitting end for the first human Spectre, as she was sure everyone would agree. 

No one said a word when she dropped the shirt on the floor, next to her boots and socks. Steve reached for the deck and after a quick shuffle and cutting of the said deck dealt another round. 

She had a definite goal in mind, now: to get the Major to lose those pants. Who cared what the others were wearing – she didn't have time for... aesthetic appreciation. If she couldn't get Kaidan naked in her cabin, at least she'd get to... sample the goods here. 

Besides, it was always easier to get a naked man to bed. Then again, it was even easier to get a man to bed you when you were naked yourself, so... maybe she should aim to lose? It was not like she was overly concerned about the others seeing her naked. To anyone shy, she had only two words: communal showers. Half the Alliance had seen her naked one time or another, from basic training onwards. That didn't leave much room for body shyness. 

Well, it seemed her cards were trying to make up her mind about the strategy for her – as rubbish a hand as she'd ever seen. Small cards, three different suits, and not a even a two-card straight among the lot. If folding wasn't an automatic loss of yet another article of clothing, she might have considered it. But as it was, there was nothing she could lose by trying, so she asked for five cards.

For once, it paid off. She drew a pair of tens, with a queen kicker, which was usually a decent hand in draw, even if James was cheating. Sam had asked for three cards, so she was most likely working with a pair, too, and Kaidan asking for one was trying for a flush or a straight, or held two pairs and was trying for a full house. Or he had quads and was just playing with them, but as she could count the amount of quads she'd seen in five card draw over a decade in the fleet – two – that wasn't as likely. 

He was trying for a flush. He got it, too, damn the man, but at least she didn't lose – Steve's failed straight took the honor, and as they'd agreed only the losing hand would have to strip... well, she was safe for another round. 

Then she remembered her strategy, and went back to her planning. It was too easy to get sucked into the game for its own sake. Shepard rarely played to lose.

Steve was down to his briefs, now, but she wasn't nearly as interested in that as she was on getting Kaidan to a similar state. He was shuffling the cards now, and Shepard's eyes were drawn to his fingers, nimbly handling the deck. She loved his hands. She could feel a hot flush going through her body at the thought of what they could do. 

Kaidan met her eyes as if he could hear her thoughts, and dammit if he didn't look flushed, too. His pupils were a bit larger than the ambient light warranted. Was he enjoying what he could see on the other sight of the table, then? His fingers stumbled on the cars, just a little, but a tell is a tell. 

He dealt the cards without taking his eyes off her eyes, and that took concentration. She was impressed. He didn't flash one card. 

She tore her eyes off his to take in her cards. A queen kicker, again, unless she wanted to go for the flush draw. Well, go big or go home. Three more losses until she was naked and could put all her clothes back on. The real deal breaker here was whether she could take Kaidan with her when she left the room. 

EDI had turned the heating up a bit in the lounge, obviously paying attention to their diminishing cover, and she could feel a drop of sweat sliding down from her forehead. She didn't wipe it away, though, and leaned her head forward a bit to surreptitiously guide its route. She glanced up from her cards and true enough, Kaidan's eyes were tracking the droplet, following its way down her neck, into the valley between her breasts. 

He swallowed again, shaking himself almost physically to concentrate on his cards. Shepard would have given much to find out the state of his pants. Was she being too subtle for the game? But resorting to footsie under the table would be like admitting defeat. Too blunt for a sophisticated game like this. 

James lost, for a change, cursing in Spanish while he got rid of his boots. Boots and socks counted as one item each in a grown up game. 

The game had turned silent, besides James' curses, all the trash talk from earlier gone by the way of their clothes, and the atmosphere was getting tense. Not fighting tense, but something that made Shepard's skin hum with excitement nonetheless. 

Was it just her and Kaidan's shared smoldering looks that affected the whole room, or was there something else going on as well, another game played, with larger stakes than the cards? If so, she didn't really care. The crew could sleep with whom they wanted. As long as it didn't make them hesitate in the field, it wasn't her business. She wasn't that much of a hypocrite, and besides, she trusted her people. 

When she lost the next hand, she very deliberately stood up to remove her pants, something the others hadn't done. There was no extra wriggling, though, but her forward bent was probably a bit exaggerated, offering a nice view of her cleavage to Kaidan. Steve, too, sitting next to him, but he was unlikely to appreciate it. 

Sam whistled, seeing her matching underpants, obviously feeling the beer she had been downing – the specialist was seldom as open in her regard. James' “damn, Lola” was expected. Kaidan didn't say a word, but the level of heat in his gaze seemed to have doubled. 

Shepard was ready to wish the other occupants of the table to hell. She was ready to chuck the whole damn game. Enough foreplay, she was wet and wanting, and the sight of all that bare skin just a few feet from her was making her mouth water. 

She took a sip of her beer, tilting her head back to expose her long neck, maybe pulling a little too much of the bottle neck into her mouth, only to draw it out slowly. Too crude? Kaidan seemed to appreciate the sight. He was shifting on his seat, and his right hand disappeared under the table for long enough for adjustments. Well, he could have been scratching an itch for all she knew but his eyes spoke of a whole another itch altogether. 

Sam was dealing. Shepard just glanced at her cards before returning her gaze to Kaidan. He was yet to even check his hand. The others must have noticed something by now, but no one commented on the fact that neither of them exchanged any cards, nor looked at the others' cards after the redraw. Apparently, her hand held, and so did Kaidan's, and James reached for his socks. 

James' turn to deal, and if Shepard's theory was right, he would not lose the next hand. He really should point out to the man that cheating too blatantly was going to get him dead one of these days. But not now. She was too busy.

James didn't win. He didn't lose, either. Kaidan did. 

He got up, eyes defiantly on Shepard, and slowly undid his belt. The zip was harder, seeing that the pants had gotten quite tight at some point of the game. The erection straining the material of his black briefs was a mouth-watering sight, and Shepard wondered if anyone would mind her pouncing for it then and there. 

She didn't move, except her eyes, from the bulge back to his eyes, and shared the burn of the gaze. No one commented, and Kaidan sat down. Shepard spared a quick look at Steve, who was shuffling the deck, looking a bit flushed himself. 

Shepard licked her lips, and reached for the beer again. She finished it, and got up for a refill. If she put a little extra swing on her hips while walking... well. 

“Anyone else want anything?” she asked, and even her voice seemed lower, huskier. 

“Some of that,” James said. “I mean, cerveza.”

“Me too,” piped in Sam. “I mean the beer.”

“I'm good,” said Kaidan, his voice also a shade deeper.

“I know,” Shepard said, smirking, and he flushed further. 

Steve finished shuffling, and James cut the deck. This time, neither Shepard or Kaidan bothered to even look at their cards, not even when they turned them face up at the end. Sam told Shepard that she had lost. 

Panties or a bra, she wondered, eyes on Kaidan, who was swallowing again. Again going for what the table wouldn't cover, she undid the hook behind her back, and unceremoniously dropped her bra. Her nipples were hard, even though the room wasn't cool. She didn't give a damn about anyone's reaction but Kaidan's, whose eyes were locked on her... face. That was interesting. As was the flush going down his neck.

There were three of them now with one item away from nudity and the end of a game. Sam was still wearing her shirt and underwear, which, assuming she was wearing a bra, put her in the lead, followed by Vega with two items left. 

Shepard didn't even know if she was playing to win or lose anymore, but it was starting to look like she was going to win in either case.

Kaidan had to drag his attention away from her to shuffle the deck. It was the shortest shuffle in the history before he presented it to Steve to cut. His eyes found hers again for the second blind deal, and his hands were as steady as always.

Shepard picked up her cards and fanned herself with them idly. Kaidan picked up his but hardly glanced at them. She had a decent enough hand. Maybe she should discard it and get five cards again? What would work best, winning or losing? In the end she kept her pair and managed to make it trips. Kaidan had a pair of jacks, Sam an ace high, James a small pair and Steve, again with a failed draw, with a tenner as his kicker, which meant he was naked, he was out, and...

“I'm done with the games,” Shepard said. 

“Me too,” said Kaidan, got up, and reached for her over the felt. 

She let him capture her hands, but whatever she had expected it wasn't being pulled over the table. She scrambled to get her legs under her, feeling cards sticking to her skin as she went, getting an almost shameful thrill of the strength he showed in moving her so easily. Then his hot lips were on hers, and the thrills were multiplied. 

She was sitting on the felt table, arms and legs around Kaidan's standing body, and all she could think of was getting as much of her skin as possible against his. She didn't care about their audience, whether they were still there, sitting by the table to appreciate the show. Kaidan's hands were on her breasts, callused hands running over her nipples, then sliding down the curve of her body to her butt, pulling her closer to the edge of the table, bringing her hips flush with his own, so that she could feel the bulge she had viewed earlier. 

She could just hear the door closing in the distance, and hoped that meant their audience was gone. This wasn't quite how a CO should comport herself but dammit if she actually gave a damn. Kaidan's hands were in her panties now, slipping into her excess wetness while his tongue played with hers inside her mouth. If she could make herself pull back from the kiss, she could tell him to get a move on.

As she couldn't, she dropped her own hands down his body to squeeze his butt through the cotton of his briefs before slipping her fingers under the elastic to pull them down over his erection and let the gravity take care of the rest. He kicked them out when they reached floor level without interrupting the kiss. 

Her hands were on her own underwear next, but Kaidan was there first, merely shoving them to the side to push inside her, fast, without his usual care. She was wet enough for the slide in to be easy, but it had been years, and he was not small. Still, even the pain only registered as pleasure now. 

She let her upper body fall back on the table, felt and cards on her back, Kaidan's hands on her hip, her breast, his mouth following, all the while pumping into her, with increasing speed and pressure, making the whole table vibrate. Guess she wasn't the only one who was desperate.

It felt so good, so right, so full, making the relationship real again in a primal, physical way. She had missed him so much, she had missed this feeling so much, but had it ever been this hungry, this desperate, this hurried? It was delicious. The hand that had been braced on her hip moved, and she almost came the moment she felt his thumb against her clit. Too good at playing her body, like he had spent the years apart formulating strategies to make her fall apart, and she suddenly realized she was moaning aloud, every exhale loud and desperate.

She opened the eyes she hadn't noticed she had closed, and looked at the beautiful sight above her. His expression was one of fierce concentration, almost desperately trying to keep himself from coming, it seemed, and she raised a hand to his face. He leaned into it, licking her fingers, and she willed him to open his eyes, to look at her, to look at them, finally joined, and maybe she said it aloud because he did. His eyes were still full of the fire, but something more too, something comforting and comfortable, and she opened her mouth to ask him to finish. 

What came out was “I love you,” but it amounted to the same thing, because he increased his pace even more, thrusting deeper, faster, and the thumb on her clit made tiny circles, pushing the orgasm out of her, and for an endless second she could feel it in her whole body, from her scalp to her curling toes. She fell apart, and fell on the table, hard, only now realizing he was coming, too, erratic thrusts halting as he trembled in and around her, expression of concentration transforming to pain/pleasure, then relaxation and love, as he let his body to slump forward, covering hers on the table. 

“Love you too,” he whispered in her ear, panting. 

“Missed you so much,” she said, the sex like a truth serum, wringing admissions from her. 

“You too. So much.” There was pain in his words, and his arms came to pull her closer, arching off the table again. “Never leave me again,” he begged. 

“That depends,” she said, seriously. 

“On?”

“Do you count the time we need to separate to put some clothes on so that we can appear at least somewhat composed on our way to my cabin for round two.”

They got up, laughing, still riding high on the mix of chemicals in their bodies, released by their actions, and Kaidan plucked off the cards that were stuck to her skin. 

“You have a full house,” he told her.

“Is that some kind of weird innuendo?”

“No, it means you had a pair stuck to your ass, and three of a kind among those on your back.”

“Aren't I lucky,” she said, grinning. 

He turned serious. “I'm the lucky one.”

“Well, seeing our luck in cards sucks, it's only fair we're lucky in something. Now, about that bedroom...”


End file.
